


A Turn of the Tide

by frapandfurious



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, First Kiss, First Meetings, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute, Mention of Minor Character Death, Protective Hux, Rescue, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-30
Updated: 2016-10-30
Packaged: 2018-08-27 23:55:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8422669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frapandfurious/pseuds/frapandfurious
Summary: Something had washed ashore among the debris, but it wasn’t a log or a clump of seaweed. It looked…sort of like a body. Hux stepped a little closer and squinted and – yes, that was a body. A man wearing nothing but shorts. The same man he’d just seen dive from the rocks.
And he wasn’t moving.





	

Frigid wind whipped through Hux’s hair, tossing it into his eyes and then back from his face as he walked along the abandoned boardwalk which ran parallel to the beach of the small coastal town. And yet the chill in the air was somehow less unpleasant than being back in that house with his damned family. He didn’t see a point in celebrating his father’s third but undoubtedly not final marriage.

 

He reached the end of the walk, where a ramp led down to the beach. In the summer perhaps it was nice but now, in late March, the wet sand clumped together and was littered with a winter’s worth of driftwood, seaweed, litter and leaves. The sky was grey and the churning water only a slightly darker gray. It was far from scenic.

 

To Hux’s left, dark, wet rocks jutted out beyond the sand into the crashing waves. It might have been a fun jumping off point on a nicer day. Now it was only slippery and dangerous.

 

So it came as a shock to see someone slowly making their way across the slick surface towards where the rocks sharply dropped off into the ocean. Even more shocking was that they were wearing nothing but boxer shorts.

 

“Moron,” Hux mumbled under his breath.

 

He watched with only mild interest as the man reached the edge of the rocks, backed up, then took a running dive straight into the murky water. Hux shuddered just imagining the icy sting of it. It made him want to head back inside where it was warm, even if it meant socializing with his awful relatives.

 

Hux began slowly making his way back. When he was almost to the other end of the boardwalk, he glanced back, wondering if he’d catch a glimpse of the foolish swimmer.

 

What he saw instead made him stop walking instantly.

 

Something had washed ashore among the debris, but it wasn’t a log or a clump of seaweed. It looked…sort of like a body. Hux stepped a little closer and squinted and – yes, that was a body. A man wearing nothing but shorts. The same man he’d just seen dive from the rocks.

 

And he wasn’t moving.

 

It was tempting to turn and keep walking, pretend he’d seen nothing, leave the fool to the consequences of his own actions. Hell, maybe he’d wanted this.

 

But…

 

But as apathetic as he tried to appear, Hux _did_ have a conscience. So whether he felt like trudging through wet sand or not, his feet began to move. First a steady stride, then a light jog as he hurried to the still figure.

 

The man had been pushed nearly all the way out of the water, waves only just licking at bare feet. He was curled on his side and face down, his arms sprawled out in front of him.

 

Hux kneeled beside him and rolled him onto his back. He was taken aback by the man’s appearance, both his youth and his strange features. But there wasn’t time to dwell on either.

 

He pulled his gloves off with his teeth and shoved them into his pocket then pressed two fingers to the man’s neck to feel for a pulse. There was one, weak but there. Then he hovered a hand over the slack (full, soft-looking) mouth, but there were no puffs of breath.

 

_It’s this idiot’s lucky day_ , Hux thought bitterly, that the only person around was trained in CPR.

 

He placed his hands in the center of the (broad, firm) chest and began compressions. When he’d done enough, he tipped the man’s head back and checked for breathing. When there was none, he moved quickly, pinching the man’s (large, angled) nose shut and covering his mouth with his own. He gave a couple of breaths then continued the chest compressions, checking occasionally for changes.

 

On the third cycle, he began to grow mildly concerned. On the fourth, he became worried.

 

He’d left his cell phone at the vacation home. If he couldn’t revive the man, he’d have to run into town to get someone, and by then it could be too late…

 

Hux gave another series of breaths. The body under him gave a violent shudder and it was just enough warning for Hux to pull away before the man curled to the side and began coughing up seawater.

 

Unsure of what to do, Hux patted his back awkwardly and took a moment to get a better look at whomever it was he had just saved.

 

He was large in every sense: tall, muscular, broad shoulders and chest and a firm abdomen and backside leading to long, thick legs. His skin, cold and clammy under Hux’s hands, was smooth and pale and dotted with moles. His hair, dripping wet and falling across his face and neck, was long and black.

 

The man began to catch his breath, his coughs easing into heavy breaths which gradually slowed. With a bit of effort, the man propped himself up on one arm and glanced over his shoulder at Hux.

 

Hux would never be able to forget this face.

 

The angles – his jaw, nose, brow – would have been striking enough on their own. But then there were lips, pink and plump, parted slightly as he breathed. They were, Hux could confirm now that he’d pressed his own to them, as soft as they looked. And then there were the eyes. It was the eyes that Hux couldn’t tear his gaze away from. A rich brown, large and lined with dark lashes, currently red-rimmed and watery; the effect was a bit like melted chocolate.

 

He stared at Hux with _those_ eyes until Hux cleared his throat, uncomfortable now that he was dealing with a conscious person.

 

“Are you alright?”

 

The man looked back at the water for a moment before returning his gaze to Hux. He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but thought better of it and snapped it shut, nodding instead. He sat up and Hux backed away a bit to give him space.

 

“That was incredibly stupid of you,” Hux informed him.

 

The other shot him a weak glare, but it only lasted a second before slumping dejectedly as if he’d remembered something awful. Hux regretted saying anything.

 

When he was upright, the man slumped forward and put his face in his hands. They sat like that, in silence except for the wind and crashing waves.

 

“T-thank you.”

 

The words were soft and mumbled into his palms, but sincere. It was then that Hux noticed just how violently the other man was shivering. Before he could talk himself out of it, he unbuttoned and removed his coat and draped it over the shaking bare shoulders.

 

There was a sniffle, then a brown eye peeked up at him from behind one large hand. Slowly he uncurled, lowering his hands and pulling the coat around himself more snugly.

 

“Thank you,” he said again.

 

Hux nodded.

 

“Can I help you get home? Or wherever it is you’re staying?” Hux’s voice was softer than he knew it could be.

 

“No. I mean, I’d rather not. Go there.”

 

“Well I’m not leaving you here.”

 

The man frowned up at him, looking as confused as Hux felt about that declaration. When he saw that Hux wasn’t backing down, he sighed.

 

“There’s a coffee shop in town. I guess I could go there. Unless there’s a ‘no shoes, no shirt, no service’ sign.” He gives a little huff of a laugh.

 

Hux thinks the man – boy, really, he can’t be much older than 21 or 22 – should go to sit by a fire or curl up in a warm bed or possibly even to a doctor to make sure he doesn’t have any lasting damage. But...he may not know _why_ the other doesn’t want to go home, but he can certainly understand the feeling. So he holds out his hands, helps him to his feet, steadies him, and they make their way across the mushy sand to the boardwalk and into town.

 

*

 

The coffee shop was blessedly empty when they arrived, only one barista at the counter and a man in a chair by the front window, typing away on a laptop.

 

Hux guided him to a couch in the far back corner and made him sit. The young man was still shaking, and it was beginning to worry Hux.

 

“I’m going to see if they have any…towels, I guess.”

 

Before he turned away he remembered something.

 

“What’s your name?”

 

“B-ben.”

 

“I’m Hux. Stay put, don’t go jumping off anything else while my back is turned.”

 

A crooked smile spread onto the other’s face, but then it was gone, too quickly. Hux found himself wanting to see it again.

 

The barista was beyond helpful. She took one look at Ben’s hunched, shivering form and sprang into action.

 

“Yell if someone comes in,” she instructed both Hux and the man at the window, who gave a noncommittal grunt. Then she disappeared up a flight of stairs near the back of the building which must have led to the apartment above.

 

A few moments later she returned with a pile of blankets, some dry clothes and a pair of old sneakers. She handed them to Hux who thanked her profusely as he accepted them. He made a mental note to leave a good tip.

 

Why he was doing any of this, he couldn’t be sure. But when he turned and saw Ben watching him, still trembling, wrapped in Hux’s coat, big eyes blinking at Hux like he was a mirage, and _why_ didn’t really seem to matter.

 

Hux returned to him and plopped the clothes into his lap.

 

“There’s a bathroom at the end of the hall, go put those on.” He paused, then, “Do you like coffee?”

 

Ben shrugged, toying with the sleeve of the sweater at the top of the pile.

 

“Tea? Hot chocolate?”

 

“Hot chocolate,” Ben mumbled to the floor, as if embarrassed.

 

Oh, _hell_. He was _cute_.

 

“Hot chocolate it is,” Hux said before he could dwell on that revelation any further. “Go on then.”

 

Ben slipped reluctantly from the warmth of Hux’s coat and shuffled to the bathroom.

 

Hux ordered himself a strong coffee and a hot chocolate for Ben. He curled up on one end of the couch with his legs folded beneath him and wrapped one of the blankets around his shoulders. As he sipped at his drink he wondered how today had taken such a strange turn.

 

The other end of the couch dipped as Ben settled back down. He was wearing the sweater and a pair of sweatpants, both snug on his thick frame, and a pair of socks along with the sneakers. He’d pushed his wet hair back from his face and had apparently tried to comb it into some sort of order with his fingers.

 

Hux watched as he shifted until he got comfortable, his long legs bent awkwardly with his feet inward and shoulders hunched, like he was trying to take up less space. He pulled the other blanket around himself then reached for the hot chocolate and held it gratefully between his hands, savoring the warmth.

 

They sat sipping their drinks to the sounds of soft piano music, the light tapping of fingers on a keyboard and the swish of a broom across the floor.

 

“So,” Hux started when he felt Ben had had sufficient time to regain feeling in his limbs, “do I get to know _why_ I had to run out onto the beach and resuscitate someone who decided to go for a dip in the ocean in _March_?”

 

For a moment he worried the directness of the question would scare Ben off. He glanced over to see Ben giving him a deer-in-the-headlights sort of look and was almost certain it would. But then the expression relaxed into an amused half smile and Ben chuckled. He set his cup down and brought a hand up to run through his still damp hair.

 

“Yeah, uh…thanks again for that, by the way. And for this. You didn’t have to help me.”

 

Hux set his own cup down and shifted to look at him expectantly, still hoping for an explanation.

 

Ben chewed on his lower lip, his eyes darting between Hux and the table. With a heavy sigh, he also turned to face Hux, pulling the blanket tighter around himself like armor.

 

“My grandfather died,” he started, and Hux was glad he’d put his drink down or he might have spilled it at the sudden, blunt confession. “He retired out here after grandma passed and I’m town with my family for the…for the funeral. It was today.”

 

He swallowed, his face forlorn. Then it was like something burst, like once he’d started opening up he couldn’t stop.

 

“I didn’t…take it well. I don’t get along with my parents but grandpa, he always understood me, and with him gone…I couldn’t handle it. I didn’t want it to be real. But there they were, lowering him into a fucking hole in the ground, and I’m just…supposed to accept that? I couldn’t and so I…ran. Until I got to the beach. And I just felt so numb and empty and angry all at the same time. I just wanted to feel something, or, I don’t know, do something crazy. Anything to get that image out of my head. So I stripped down, mom would _kill_ me if I ruined my only suit, and I jumped. I wasn’t thinking. It was, like you said, stupid. Reckless. That’s me in a nutshell. Once I was under, I regretted it, and then a strong wave pulled me under and, well. You know the rest.”

 

As he spoke his lips quivered, the words coming out thick as he fought to get them out, while fat tears slipped down his cheeks. Hux barely resisted reaching out to wipe them away. Something about seeing that face so sad gnawed away at him inside and he felt an uncharacteristic pull to comfort. He wanted to see the rest of that smile he’d only gotten a glimpse of earlier.

 

Comforting others wasn’t one of his strong suits, though, and he found himself at a loss for what to say.

 

“I’m…sorry to hear that,” he managed, flinching at the trite phrase. Ben had probably heard those same useless words a dozen times. “I am. That’s awful.” Hux’s mind scrambled to find something more sincere to add. “I was out there for…not similar reasons. But to get away from something. I wouldn’t have gone so far as to jump into icy water,” he tried for a smile and one corner of Ben’s mouth curved up in a little halfhearted attempt to return it, “but I suppose I understand the need to, as you said, feel something.”

 

Ben nodded and sniffled, grabbing a napkin from the table to blow his nose into. When he pulled it away the tip of his large nose was red and it shouldn’t have been endearing, and yet…

 

“What were you getting away from? I mean. If you don’t mind me asking. You don’t have to tell me. Sorry, I shouldn’t have…”

 

“It’s fine,” Hux interrupted. “It’s nothing like what you’re going through, but my father just got remarried, for the third time, and having all of my family in one place is…taxing. They have very high expectations. And every one of his wives has been awful but this one really takes the cake, and I’m supposed to just stand there and act like I’m happy for them? Come to think of it, I’d rather throw myself into the ocean.”

 

Ben laughed softly at that and Hux couldn’t help but smile, his eyes darting down to where his hands  rested in his lap. Talking to others was never this easy for him. Why was this different? It felt surprisingly good.

 

“Anyway. I’m glad I was out there.” He looked up to meet Ben’s eyes. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

 

And Hux found that he really meant it. If he hadn’t been there, would anyone have found Ben in time? Or would he have…no. Just the thought of it made Hux’s throat tighten.

 

“Thank you,” Ben repeated. There was something different about it this time, soft with awe and warm with gratitude, and his face just as soft and eyes just as warm.

 

Hux didn’t remember moving to the middle of the couch, nor had he noticed Ben moving closer, but suddenly they were right beside each other, their legs touching, those liquid eyes close enough for Hux to see the subtle variation in the brown of his irises. His hair was almost completely dry and now strands of it fell into his face. In the gray light coming in through the windows Hux could now see that it was not quite black, but a deep, rich brown. It looked unbelievably soft.

 

It _was_ unbelievably soft. He registered that only just before registering that his hand had drifted up to brush some of it back from Ben’s face, over one large ear. His instincts screamed at him to pull away but his hand seemed magnetized, stuck lightly to Ben’s skin with his thumb resting on his cheek. Surely any moment now Ben would pull away, or push him away.

 

But he didn’t.

 

In fact, he was preoccupied with staring back into Hux’s eyes. Then he blinked slowly and seemed to sway a little. The tip of his nose bumped the side of Hux’s and Hux gasped.

 

“You don’t…have to,” Ben mumbled, warm breath ghosting over Hux’s lips.

 

As if kissing that soft mouth would have been some sort of burden.

 

As if he was about to pull away if he thought for a second Hux didn’t want this.

 

Hux absolutely could not allow that.

 

Without another thought, Hux closed the distance, carefully, softly, allowing Ben a chance to change his mind. When his lips met Ben’s he sighed a little at the feeling, and when Ben didn’t pull away he pressed in a little further. They stayed like that, the thudding of their pulse in their ears drowning out everything else.

 

Then Ben melted, his lips parting slightly, and Hux took the opportunity to tilt his head and deepen the kiss. When he felt a pair of large hands tentatively hold his waist his flew up to Ben’s shoulders, gripping the soft fabric of the borrowed sweater. Ben let out a small groan that Hux could feel ripple through his skin and into his bones.

 

A sharp snap – the man by the window shutting his laptop – brought them abruptly out of the moment. Hux pulled away first, lowering his hands and trying to school his features into something composed despite the pleasant tingle on his lips. Ben, on the other hand, wore everything he was feeling that moment as plain as day – desire and contentedness mingling with surprise.

 

Until he took in Hux’s face, and then fear colored his features.

 

“Sorry,” Ben stuttered out, pulling his hands away. “I don’t know why I did that…”

 

“We both did it,” Hux reassured, grateful he sounded more calm and logical than he felt. It didn’t seem to do much for Ben’s nerves, though. “And it was…good.”

 

_Good_ felt like the understatement of the century. Regardless, it was enough. Some of the tension eased from Ben’s posture.

 

“Yeah. Yeah, it was. Really good.” He chewed on his bottom lip, thinking for a moment, then gave Hux a charming, crooked grin as he boldly added, “if I nearly drown again do I get another one?”

 

Hux’s face went red to the tips of his ears.

 

“Don’t you _dare_. Just…just _ask_ like a normal person, will you?” Hux laughed a little as he spoke. Ben began to giggle along with him until they were quietly laughing together, giddy and relieved at the lack of anticipated rejection.

 

It was then that the barista apologetically told them the shop had closed five minutes ago, that she hated to kick them out but she had to lock up. So they finished their lukewarm drinks and reluctantly stood from the couch. Ben glanced at his borrowed clothing. The barista quickly assured him that he could wear it home and drop it off the next day. Hux tossed his coat over Ben’s shoulders again for good measure.

 

The sun hung low in the sky when they stepped outside, peeking through the first break in the clouds all day. Hux and Ben stood together under the awning of the coffee shop.

 

“Are you still in town tomorrow?” Ben asked cautiously.

 

Hux nodded. His chest swelled with hope at where this was going.

 

“Can I take you to lunch? You know, as thanks for saving me.”

 

“Yes,” Hux replied far too eagerly. He cleared his throat and stood straighter, trying again for composure. “That would be nice. But won’t your family mind if you’re gone?”

 

“Probably. But I don’t care. What about you?”

 

Hux grinned.

 

“Same, on both counts. I’d be happy to disappoint my family with you.”

 

Ben laughed. His eyes twinkled, warm and bright in the sunlight.

 

“It’s a date. Can you meet me here at noon?”

 

“That’s perfect. You can give that back to me then, too,” Hux added when Ben started to hand Hux his coat. Ben needed it more than he did, and maybe it could serve as insurance that they’d both show up.

 

Ben gripped the coat gratefully.

 

“Thank you, Hux. Really. I can’t thank you enough.”

 

Hux looked at him, took a deep breath, and quickly leaned forward to peck his cheek.

 

“Stay warm, Ben,” he whispered before pulling away. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

 

Ben nodded, lifting his fingers to his face with a dazed expression.

 

Hux turned and began his journey back towards the vacation home. His father would surely be furious, his nosy aunts and uncles full of questions – why did you leave, where did you go, where is your coat? He smiled as he realized he truly didn’t care, because the dying light of the day promised a new one to come, bright and warm with promise, just like Ben’s eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> [tumblr](http://obsessions-and-dreams.tumblr.com/)


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